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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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. snap — to click
  3. root — of a word
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — of a king
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of law
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. root — the cause
  14. swing — in golf
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. swing — music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — to play on
  20. root — of a plant
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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