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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ball — a dance
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. snap — to click
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ball — a great time
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chest — a box

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