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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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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: snap · tube · kick · face · pit · squash · saw · bore

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pit — in a race
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. tube — a container
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pit — a hole
  15. snap — to click
  16. saw — the tool
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kick — in football
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bore — to tire
  24. saw — the tool

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