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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. row — a line
  3. snap — to click
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rule — government
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hand — help
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. perch — the fish
  15. sharp — clever
  16. squash — to crush
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rule — a law
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. perch — for a bird

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