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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: fork · pass · bat · squash · object · kid · mine · dip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — for digging
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fork — in a road
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. object — to protest
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. object — a thing
  20. bat — the animal
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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