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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 will it ________________ you to start?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. suit — in cards
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kid — child
  20. suit — clothes
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to click
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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