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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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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: net · kid · bat · deal · toast · stick · root · mark

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. deal — to handle
  9. toast — bread
  10. mark — a trace
  11. root — the cause
  12. kid — child
  13. root — of a word
  14. net — for catching
  15. mark — a grade
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — after costs
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. net — in sport
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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