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

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. ball — a great time
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spell — letters
  7. stock — goods
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spell — magic
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. snap — to click
  13. stock — shares
  14. ball — a dance
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stock — a soup base

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