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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. snap — to click
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — to protest
  8. stock — goods
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. content — the amount
  15. plane — a tool
  16. rest — a break
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rest — what's left
  20. object — a thing
  21. stock — shares
  22. object — an aim
  23. game — a match
  24. plane — an aircraft

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