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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — the animal
  17. scale — in music
  18. snap — to click
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. hand — in cards
  22. field — a subject
  23. squash — the sport
  24. plane — a tool

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