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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — the animal
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. snap — to click
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — a series
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cell — a phone
  13. drill — army training
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bulb — for light
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. drill — a practice
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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