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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. object — a thing
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. band — a music group
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a ring
  11. scale — in music
  12. lean — thin
  13. object — to protest
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — help
  16. snap — to click
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. hand — in cards
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. object — an aim
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. kick — with a leg

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