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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chip — for betting
  7. drill — the tool
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. chip — to eat
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. drill — army training
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hide — to keep secret

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