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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — money
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tube — a container
  13. snap — to click
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. swing — music
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tube — the underground
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kick — in football
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. dip — a sauce

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