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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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. bat — the animal
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. can — to be able to
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. press — to push
  9. key — for a lock
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bore — to tire
  19. press — a publisher
  20. key — the most important part
  21. press — newspapers
  22. key — in music
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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