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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. drill — the tool
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — the animal
  10. drill — army training
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mate — to breed
  18. face — to confront
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — help
  24. face — part of the head

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