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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: kid · dip · pitch · tube · fork · bat · sharp · rash

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rash — a series
  3. tube — the underground
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rash — hasty
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. kid — child
  16. tube — a container
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. sharp — clever
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — a garden tool

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