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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. staff — employees
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. charge — a price
  7. tear — from crying
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rash — a series
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. staff — employees
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. charge — in control
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. charge — electricity
  22. stand — to bear
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pit — a hole

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