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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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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: kick · content · last · racket · scale · bat · deal · snap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. snap — to click
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. scale — size or range
  21. content — happy
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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