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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rule — government
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. fall — the season
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cue — for pool

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