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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. ground — a position
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — child
  19. snap — to click
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — to turn a key

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