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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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468
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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — size or range
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. chest — of your body
  15. scale — in music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. snap — to click
  24. racket — for tennis

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