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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — the tool
  5. kick — in football
  6. drill — a practice
  7. date — the fruit
  8. land — a country
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — army training
  12. land — ground
  13. rest — a break
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rest — what's left
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. deal — to handle
  20. land — to come down
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. date — on the calendar

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