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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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. fork — a garden tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chip — for betting
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chip — to eat
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — from crying
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mouse — the animal

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