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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: can · bear · bat · court · tube · nail · hand · arm

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — of law
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. can — to be able to
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. hand — in cards
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of a king
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tube — a container
  24. bear — the animal

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