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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. snap — to click
  11. cue — for pool
  12. kid — child
  13. cue — a signal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stock — shares
  18. scale — size or range

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