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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. board — to get on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bore — to drill
  10. board — a committee
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — to tire
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — music
  20. rest — a break
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. march — the month

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