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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. snap — to click
  6. cue — a hint
  7. sharp — clever
  8. field — farmland
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — help
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — a subject
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. hand — in cards

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