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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: cell · bear · bat · kid · hand · kick · drill · root

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bear — the animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kick — in football
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. root — of a word
  15. kid — child
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — army training
  21. cell — a phone
  22. hand — help
  23. root — the cause
  24. kick — a thrill

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