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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — child
  8. firm — decided
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — a skill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chest — a box
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — steady
  20. fine — all right
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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