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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — a series
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rash — hasty
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kid — child
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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