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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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. capital — a big letter
  3. snap — to click
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. hand — help
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kick — in football
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. capital — a city
  18. fine — high quality
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fine — all right
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. capital — money

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