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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. deal — to handle
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tube — the underground
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. tube — a container
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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