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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: mate · hand · bat · kid · bulb · scale · arm · drill

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hand — help
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mate — to breed
  11. drill — army training
  12. bulb — for light
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mate — a friend
  15. kid — to tease
  16. drill — a practice
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. scale — size or range
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kid — child
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bulb — for light
  24. scale — in music

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