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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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. board — a committee
  3. prune — to trim
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — the time now
  7. hand — help
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cell — a phone
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — in cards
  12. board — to get on
  13. present — a gift
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cell — in biology
  19. present — there
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to click
  24. prune — to trim

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