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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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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: cue · kick · craft · rest · kid · bat · row · tear

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kick — in football
  10. row — a line
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. kid — child
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tear — to rip
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tear — from crying
  19. craft — boats
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. craft — a handicraft

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