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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kid — child
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — obliged
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bound — tied together

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