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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: snap · chair · chest · deal · squash · rule

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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. chair — to sit on
  3. snap — to click
  4. rule — a law
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chair — a leader
  7. deal — to handle
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — the sport
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rule — government

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