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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: kid · scale · squash · cabinet · last · bear · bat · coach

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bat — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. scale — in music
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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