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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kick — in football
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — child
  17. mate — a partner
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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