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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 124 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. snap — to click
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — an illness
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. board — a committee
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — thin
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. board — to get on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. lean — to bend
  24. kid — child

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