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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 · saw · last · deal · ground · chair · kid · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chair — a leader
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — a position
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. last — final
  19. lean — to bend
  20. deal — to handle
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — the earth

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