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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — the animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. tube — the underground
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lean — thin
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. season — in sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lean — to bend
  24. nail — on a finger

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