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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: bat · plane · stick · rush · drill · content · wound · snap

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — the amount
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. drill — army training
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — a tool

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