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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: kick · mug · chair · snap · pitcher · band · wound · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. mug — a cup
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — a face
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chair — a leader
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. toast — bread
  21. snap — to click
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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