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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — the time now
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — to tease
  6. swing — music
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. swing — to play on
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. snap — to click
  16. present — there
  17. stock — goods
  18. mug — to rob
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. swing — in golf
  24. prune — to trim

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