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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. ball — a dance
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. field — a subject
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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