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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: wake · hide · ruler · ground · kid · drill · mouse · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. drill — army training
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — a trail
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ruler — for measuring

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