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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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. hand — in cards
  3. file — a document
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — child
  8. pop — to visit
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pop — soda
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. hand — help
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pop — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. file — a tool
  24. hand — part of the body

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