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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. saw — the tool
  3. firm — decided
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kick — in football
  12. firm — steady
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. row — to paddle
  21. firm — a company
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. row — a line

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