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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · hide · tube · bat · bulb · cabinet · tear · suit

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — a container
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — to fit
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — the animal
  16. suit — clothes
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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