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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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. kid — child
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kid — to tease
  8. squash — to crush
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. march — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. sharp — exactly

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