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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. snap — to click
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — music
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — the animal
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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