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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — help
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — a video
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cap — a lid
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. drill — army training
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mouse — 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