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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. shower — rain
  4. lie — to recline
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ball — a great time
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. drill — army training
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ball — a dance
  18. lie — an untruth

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