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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. row — a line
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. track — to keep track
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. track — a path
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cap — of ice
  24. track — a song

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