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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — the time now
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. firm — a company
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — there
  20. firm — steady
  21. present — a gift
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. game — wild animals
  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