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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. row — a line
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. tear — to rip
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. row — to paddle
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — to crush
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. toast — bread

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