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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. snap — to click
  14. last — final
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rash — a series
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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