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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. present — there
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. present — the time now
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. suit — clothes
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. suit — to fit
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. snap — to click
  17. suit — in cards
  18. present — a gift

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