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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. drill — army training
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. tube — the underground
  7. deal — to handle
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tube — a container
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bat — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — part of the head
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mark — a trace
  20. kid — child
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. drill — a practice

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