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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — a container
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kid — child
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. shower — rain
  20. staff — employees
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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