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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rest — what's left
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — the animal
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. deal — to handle
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rest — what's left
  21. shower — rain
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. bat — in an idiom

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