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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. season — in sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — music
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cap — a hat
  11. row — a line
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bat — the animal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. march — the month
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. season — of the year

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