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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — a stone
  23. kid — child
  24. rock — to move gently

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