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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. staff — employees
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — hasty
  8. race — a contest
  9. pit — in a race
  10. net — for catching
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. race — humankind
  14. staff — a stick
  15. race — the arms race
  16. staff — employees
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — after costs
  21. rash — a series
  22. face — to point toward
  23. net — in sport
  24. pit — a hole

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