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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 124 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. squash — to crush
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to click
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chip — for betting
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. squash — the sport

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