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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. present — the time now
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. present — a gift
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mug — to rob
  8. march — music
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cue — a hint
  12. mug — a face
  13. cue — a signal
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mug — a cup
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — a container
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. present — there

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