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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mug — a cup
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. net — for catching
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mug — a face
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — after costs
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spring — of water
  22. scale — in music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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