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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: snap · kick · cabinet · kid · deal · bat · tear · dip

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — to tease
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kid — child
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. dip — to sink
  12. kick — in football
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — to rip
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. tear — from crying

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