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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. last — final
  3. season — in sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — of the year
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. current — of water
  9. current — electric
  10. hand — help
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — a box
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. current — happening now
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — finally
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. last — to go on
  24. snap — to click

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