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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bat — the animal
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. net — after costs
  6. snap — to click
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — for catching
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spell — magic
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. net — in sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spell — letters
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — a short time

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