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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 · game · rock · snap · march · cabinet · lash · kick

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. game — a match
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rock — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. march — music
  19. kick — in football
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. march — the month
  24. rock — to move gently

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