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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. drill — the tool
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — hasty
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. drill — army training
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — a series
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. drill — a practice
  23. snap — to click
  24. wave — with your hand

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