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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitch — completely
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — an aim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to click
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cue — a hint
  15. tear — from crying
  16. object — to protest
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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