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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — the season
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. shower — rain
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — child
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fork — in a road
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — all right

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