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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spell — a short time
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to click
  12. game — a match
  13. last — to go on
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — final
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. last — finally
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. spell — letters
  24. rash — a series

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