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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: stick · wound · board · rash · tube · kid · bat · spell

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rash — a series
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tube — a container
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spell — letters
  18. rash — hasty
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. board — to get on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. board — a committee
  23. kid — child
  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