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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. squash — to crush
  5. file — a tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kick — in football
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. file — a document
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cap — a hat
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rock — music
  24. craft — a skill

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