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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — the tool
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — help
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. court — of a king
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — for sport
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. court — of law

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