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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: hand · bowl · leaves · bat · kid · chip · kick · cue

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cue — a hint
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cue — for pool
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cue — a signal
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bowl — to roll

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