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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 · snap · chest · bear · game · season · current · nail

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. current — electric
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bat — the animal
  12. current — happening now
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a match
  16. current — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. season — of the year
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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