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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 120 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: shower · snap · bat · suit · game · kick · nail · bear

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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. nail — for a hammer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bear — the animal
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to click
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bat — the animal
  24. nail — on a finger

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