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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: content · ball · hide · kick · staff · snap · face · bat

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kick — in football
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. face — to point toward
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. staff — employees
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. content — the amount
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hide — to keep secret

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