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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to click
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — a box
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. chair — a leader
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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