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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — for sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. snap — to click
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — of law
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. court — of a king
  18. racket — a loud noise

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