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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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. race — humankind
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to click
  9. race — a contest
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. race — the arms race
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rock — music

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