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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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. kick — in football
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. snap — to click
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rush — hurry
  8. craft — a skill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — boats
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fine — all right
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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