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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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. spring — a coil
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. present — a gift
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. snap — to click
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. race — humankind
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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