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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — electric
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. object — a thing
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. object — an aim
  8. squash — the sport
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. squash — to crush
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kick — in football
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. current — happening now
  23. object — to protest
  24. current — of water

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