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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — to go on
  3. rash — a series
  4. mug — a cup
  5. row — a line
  6. field — farmland
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mug — to rob
  12. snap — to click
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. field — a subject
  20. row — to paddle
  21. field — for sport
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. last — final
  24. wave — with your hand

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