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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. file — a document
  5. land — a country
  6. rule — a law
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to click
  9. rule — government
  10. land — to come down
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rash — hasty
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. file — a tool
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitcher — a jug

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