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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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. object — an aim
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stand — to bear
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. board — a committee
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. shower — to wash
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. object — a thing
  17. pop — music
  18. snap — to click
  19. object — to protest
  20. shower — rain
  21. board — to get on
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — an injury

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