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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. field — for sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. field — a subject
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kick — in football
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tube — the underground
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rule — a law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rule — government
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — to tease
  20. field — farmland
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kid — child
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bat — in an idiom

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