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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · ground · bark · tube · saw · bat · kid · hand

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. tube — a container
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — child
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. ground — crushed
  20. tube — the underground
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. hand — in cards
  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