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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. court — of a king
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. field — a subject
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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