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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 124 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kid — to tease
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. snap — to click
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spell — letters
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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