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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. rush — hurry
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. shower — rain
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — from crying
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — to drop
  24. snap — to click

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