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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. snap — to click
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — help
  17. fine — all right
  18. craft — boats
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. hand — part of the body

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