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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. snap — to click
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. shower — rain
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bound — certain
  9. deal — to handle
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — to wash
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. kid — child
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. hand — help
  23. bound — obliged
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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