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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. cell — in biology
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — clever
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a grade
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — to tire
  12. mark — a trace
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cell — a phone
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. press — to push
  20. shower — rain
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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