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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kid — child
  3. lie — to recline
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bank — for money
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bank — for money
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bulb — for light
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bulb — for light
  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