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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: cabinet · kid · tear · can · bat · last · spell · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. can — to be able to
  4. last — final
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — finally
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — letters
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tear — to rip
  21. spell — magic
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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