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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: foot · snap · squash · arm · date · kid · sharp · last

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. snap — to click
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. squash — to crush
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. date — the fruit
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kid — child
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — to tease
  18. last — finally
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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