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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chest — a box
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pop — soda
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pop — music
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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