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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: stick · snap · fine · bat · bark · squash · chest · drill

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. snap — to click
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fine — all right
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chest — a box
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — army training
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. drill — a practice

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