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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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. rash — on the skin
  3. march — music
  4. rash — a series
  5. snap — to click
  6. squash — to crush
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rash — hasty
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spell — letters
  24. squash — the sport

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