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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kid — to tease
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — hurry
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — child
  13. mark — a trace
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — the time now
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. present — there
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. present — a gift

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