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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 124 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — in sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — the arms race
  12. squash — to crush
  13. race — a contest
  14. net — after costs
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the sport
  24. snap — to click

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