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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 116 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: snap · drill · bat · dip · lash · root · pop · racket

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. root — of a word
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pop — soda
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. drill — army training
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. drill — the tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. drill — a practice
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — to sink

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