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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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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: kick · bat · pop · suit · bank · snap · cell · wind

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pop — soda
  3. snap — to click
  4. suit — clothes
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pop — music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. suit — to fit
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. suit — in cards
  16. kick — in football
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pop — to visit

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