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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 120 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: sharp · chest · bound · wake · drill · bat · deal · kid

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. chest — a box
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kid — to tease
  6. sharp — clever
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bound — tied together
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bound — certain
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — obliged
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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