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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. snap — to click
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mate — a friend
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — the arms race
  8. staff — employees
  9. net — for catching
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. mate — to breed
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mate — a partner
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — magic
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. race — a contest

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