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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 don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chest — a box
  3. fork — in a road
  4. snap — to click
  5. bulb — for light
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. last — final
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — army training
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a tool
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a document
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — finally

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