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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: stick · pop · game · toast · kid · cap · mine · bat

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — child
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — bread
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pop — soda
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. game — a match
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pop — to visit

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