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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — army training
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. snap — to click
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — the tool
  10. game — a match
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. rash — hasty
  24. drill — the tool

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