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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rest — a break
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kid — child
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to click
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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