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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 116 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 · bat · fine · tube · saw · tear · kid · pit

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fine — all right
  11. tube — the underground
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fine — high quality
  15. tube — a container
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — child
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mate — a friend

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