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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ball — a great time
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. club — for golf
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pitch — completely
  15. club — a group
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. club — for dancing
  19. shower — rain
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. ball — a dance
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — child

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