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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fall — the season
  6. snap — to click
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. last — finally
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fall — to drop
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. kick — in football
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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