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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — to tease
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cap — a hat
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — child

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