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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — goods
  14. club — for golf
  15. ground — a position
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hand — in cards
  18. shower — to wash
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stock — shares
  21. club — a group
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hand — help

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