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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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. bowl — to roll
  3. foot — a measure
  4. rule — a law
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rule — government
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. straw — dry grass

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