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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. fan — a supporter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — an aim
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. object — a thing
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. object — to protest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. snap — to click
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. stock — goods
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chest — a box
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. fan — to cool the air

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