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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 120 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: cabinet · rush · tear · snap · pound · mouse · file · pit

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rush — hurry
  4. snap — to click
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a tool
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. file — a document
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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