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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 · coach · file · kid · rule · wake · bulb · racket

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rule — government
  5. file — a document
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bulb — for light
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. snap — to click
  20. rule — a law
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — before a funeral

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