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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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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: bat · saw · kid · bore · temple · snap · chip · tube

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kid — child
  3. bore — to tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. snap — to click
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — to tease
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chip — to eat
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bore — to drill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tube — a container

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