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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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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: rest · snap · date · cell · kick · stock

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. date — the fruit
  6. snap — to click
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stock — goods
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kick — in football
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stock — shares
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rest — a break
  18. cell — in biology

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