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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: file · snap · cold · can · bat · hand · rest · rash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. rash — a series
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rash — hasty
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rest — a break
  18. cold — an illness
  19. file — a tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bat — the animal
  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