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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 116 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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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: stick · chair · hand · tear · snap · rush · cabinet · rash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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. cabinet — ministers
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. hand — help
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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