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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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. pitcher — in baseball
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. deal — to handle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a tool
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. snap — to click
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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