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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. kid — child
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. last — finally
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — a subject
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. field — for sport
  14. last — final
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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