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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pitch — completely
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. deal — to handle
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. capital — a city
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rash — a series
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rash — hasty
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitcher — a jug

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