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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. lie — to recline
  4. snap — to click
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chip — to eat
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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