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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. mate — a friend
  9. net — for catching
  10. mate — to breed
  11. net — in sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — employees
  17. rash — hasty
  18. staff — employees
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rash — a series
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — of the sea

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