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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to click
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. face — to confront
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cold — an illness

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