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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. race — humankind
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — low music
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rash — hasty
  20. drill — the tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — a contest
  24. lean — to rest against

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