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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — a subject
  4. snap — to click
  5. field — farmland
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bound — certain
  9. ground — a position
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kick — in football
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — help
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — for sport
  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