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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · snap · foot · present · hide · land

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. present — there
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to click
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. land — a country
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — to come down
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. land — ground
  16. bat — the animal
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hide — to keep secret

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