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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. snap — to click
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rush — hurry
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. race — a contest
  15. face — to confront
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mate — a partner
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — an illness
  24. race — humankind

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