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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — a container
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. saw — the tool

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