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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rush — hurry
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to click
  24. cabinet — ministers

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