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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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — a tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kid — child
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. fall — the season
  22. row — a line
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. date — on the calendar

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