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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. roll — a cake
  3. dip — to sink
  4. stock — shares
  5. cap — a hat
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. roll — a list
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. stock — goods
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — a division
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. snap — to click

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