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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: snap · last · kick · date · rock · chest · suit · sharp

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kick — in football
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. suit — to fit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rock — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. suit — in cards
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. date — the fruit
  17. snap — to click
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. suit — clothes
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. sharp — clever

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