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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lean — thin
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to bend
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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