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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.

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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: wave · bat · bear · deal · kid · stem · drill · file

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. file — a document
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kid — child
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. kid — to tease
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. drill — army training
  21. stem — to come from
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. drill — the tool

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