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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. lie — to recline
  6. spring — the season
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. object — an aim
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spring — a coil
  14. object — to protest
  15. mine — for digging
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — help
  23. object — a thing
  24. spring — of water

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