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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — hurry
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. snap — to click
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kid — child
  24. foot — the bottom

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