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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. chest — a box
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — to wash
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to click
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stock — shares

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