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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. firm — decided
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tube — a container
  7. firm — steady
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. firm — a company
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. kid — child
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. chest — a box
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — rain
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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