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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: hand · cabinet · deal · tube · cap · march · bat · present

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. present — there
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cap — a lid
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a hat
  13. present — a gift
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. hand — help
  16. march — the month
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — a container
  22. march — music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. present — the time now

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