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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He rubbed the rust off 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. shower — rain
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to click
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a document
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. file — a 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