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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. shower — rain
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. snap — to click
  18. spell — magic
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tube — a container
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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