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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kick — in football
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. charge — in control
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. charge — electricity
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. charge — a price
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. file — a document
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bound — tied together
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. nail — on a finger

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