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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: mate · chest · kid · safe · racket · bay · ground · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mate — to breed
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — a partner
  16. kid — child
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. chest — a box
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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