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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 are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. land — to come down
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. land — a country
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. snap — to click
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. field — a subject
  14. content — happy
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — boats
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — ground
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. pitcher — a jug

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