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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bound — tied together
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pop — soda
  10. bound — certain
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pop — music
  13. snap — to click
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. swing — music
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. bound — obliged
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — on the calendar

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