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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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. pit — in a race
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cap — a hat
  7. snap — to click
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bank — for money
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kid — child
  13. march — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pit — a hole
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. saw — the tool

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