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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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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: can · kick · hand · field · ruler · tube · date · bat

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. tube — a container
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tube — the underground
  8. field — a subject
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — for sport
  14. kick — in football
  15. can — a tin
  16. date — the fruit
  17. can — a tin
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — to be able to
  23. field — farmland
  24. hand — help

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