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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. snap — to click
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — rain
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. deal — a big deal

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