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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — after costs
  4. squash — to crush
  5. net — in sport
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. root — the cause
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. root — of a word
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. net — for catching
  16. toast — bread
  17. pound — a weight
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. root — of a plant
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. squash — the sport
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. trunk — of a tree

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