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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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. hand — part of the body
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mark — a trace
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — money
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hand — in cards
  12. drill — army training
  13. mark — a grade
  14. file — a line of people
  15. snap — to click
  16. capital — a city
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. hand — help
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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