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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: present · pitcher · wound · cue · bat · bore · cell · snap

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — the time now
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — a hint
  19. present — a gift
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — the animal
  24. present — there

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