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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: bat · march · lie · deal · clip · tube · sharp · firm

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tube — the underground
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. firm — steady
  8. march — music
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — for paper
  11. firm — a company
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. firm — decided
  22. sharp — clever
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. tube — a container

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