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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: snap · tear · ball · rock · kick · hide · bat · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ball — a dance
  10. snap — to click
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. rock — music
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kick — in football
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rock — a stone

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