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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — a container
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pop — to visit
  14. shower — rain
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — an injury
  18. firm — decided
  19. pop — music
  20. tube — the underground
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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