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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · fine · kid · rush · march · spell · chest · kick

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. march — music
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. march — the month
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — letters
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — in football
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spell — magic

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