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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to click
  5. race — humankind
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — for baseball

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