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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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. drill — the tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. board — a committee
  10. hand — in cards
  11. board — to get on
  12. hand — help
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — a practice
  17. shower — to wash
  18. drill — army training
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. shower — rain

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