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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rule — a law
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — government
  9. bank — for money
  10. snap — to click
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — rain
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. squash — the vegetable

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