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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bass — low music
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. hand — in cards
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rash — a series
  14. court — of law
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bass — the fish
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. court — for sport
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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