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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · ground · date · bat · snap · face · wave · squash

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. squash — the sport
  4. date — the fruit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to confront
  14. ground — a position
  15. stock — goods
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — crushed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bat — for baseball

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