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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. current — happening now
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hand — help
  6. kick — in football
  7. current — of water
  8. dip — to sink
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — the tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — army training
  16. snap — to click
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — a partner
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. current — electric
  24. dip — a sauce

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