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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 120 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
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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: pitcher · wound · bat · snap · pop · nail · dip · cell

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to click
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — soda
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pop — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bat — the animal

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