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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. row — a line
  3. season — in sport
  4. pit — in a race
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — a hole
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — to paddle
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — child
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bore — to drill
  20. race — humankind
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. season — of the year
  24. deal — to handle

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