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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. file — a tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a document
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — a safe
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bear — the animal

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