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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lean — to bend
  4. fine — all right
  5. band — a ring
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. pop — music
  11. fine — high quality
  12. lean — thin
  13. band — a music group
  14. season — of the year
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pop — soda
  22. snap — to click
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pop — to visit

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