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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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 — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. drill — the tool
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tube — a container
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. kick — in football
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. snap — to click
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. shower — rain
  24. saw — the tool

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