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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 120 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chest — a box
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. band — a music group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — child
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a ring
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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