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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 · rock · date · snap · chair · straw · bat · fine

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. snap — to click
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fine — high quality
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bat — the animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mate — a friend
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fine — all right
  24. rock — music

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