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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kid — to tease
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mug — a face
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — humankind
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a cup
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com