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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. present — the time now
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. rock — music
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — help
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spring — of water

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