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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — to go on
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. last — finally
  9. mug — a face
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — final
  12. scale — in music
  13. mug — to rob
  14. scale — size or range
  15. object — an aim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mug — a cup
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. fall — the season
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — for weighing

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