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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wake — a trail
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chest — a box
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to click
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. club — for dancing
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fall — the season

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