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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. firm — decided
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. field — for sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mug — a face
  8. firm — a company
  9. field — a subject
  10. mug — to rob
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. snap — to click
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mug — a cup
  16. field — farmland
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. firm — steady
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — a short time
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bat — in an idiom

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