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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pop — music
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. season — in sport
  6. file — a tool
  7. rush — hurry
  8. pop — soda
  9. snap — to click
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. file — a document
  16. pop — to visit
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. season — of the year
  24. trunk — of a tree

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