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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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. prune — to trim
  3. rash — a series
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to click
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. field — for sport
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. field — a subject
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — farmland
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. hand — part of the body

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