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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: bat · arm · chest · snap · lash · deal · jam · hand

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. snap — to click
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. arm — part of the body
  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