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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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. chair — a leader
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bank — for money
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bank — for money
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. snap — to click
  11. bulb — for light
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bulb — for light
  21. sharp — clever
  22. scale — in music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bank — of a river

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