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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. chair — a leader
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a ring
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. bore — to drill
  24. arm — a part of something

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