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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: hand · hide · pit · snap · cell · mouse · fall · board

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to click
  5. board — to get on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hand — help
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fall — the season
  15. board — a committee
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pit — in a race
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cell — a phone

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