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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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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: game · staff · bat · prune · snap · deal · content · mug

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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. content — the amount
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. mug — a face
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — wild animals
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — a cup
  13. prune — to trim
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a match
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. prune — to trim
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mug — to rob
  21. staff — employees
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bat — for baseball

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