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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. content — the amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fall — the season

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