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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a match
  3. object — a thing
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. object — an aim
  8. cue — a hint
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cue — for pool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — a tool
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. root — of a word
  18. cue — a signal
  19. object — to protest
  20. root — of a plant
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. root — the cause

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