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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. snap — to click
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — a series
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — of water
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spring — a coil
  19. staff — employees
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. toast — bread
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. pit — in a race

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