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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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. dip — to sink
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. field — for sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spell — letters
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chip — to eat
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rest — a break
  17. spell — magic
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. snap — to click
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — a subject
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chip — for betting

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