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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. snap — to click
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mine — for digging
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. chair — a leader
  14. tube — the underground
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. toast — bread
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. mine — an explosive

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