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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to click
  6. season — of the year
  7. present — the time now
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bound — tied together
  10. track — a song
  11. craft — a skill
  12. season — in sport
  13. present — there
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. track — a path
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — the animal
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. craft — boats

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