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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. net — for catching
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. staff — a stick
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fine — all right
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. net — after costs
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. staff — employees
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kid — child
  24. cell — a phone

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