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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tube — a container
  4. bass — the fish
  5. key — for a lock
  6. drill — army training
  7. date — the fruit
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tube — the underground
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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