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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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468
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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pass — a permit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rock — music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — child
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kid — to tease
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rock — a stone
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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