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

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. file — a tool
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. file — a document
  7. snap — to click
  8. file — a line of people
  9. season — in sport
  10. toast — bread
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. dip — to sink

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