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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — a position
  19. scale — in music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bat — in an idiom

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