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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. snap — to click
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cap — a lid
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. deal — to handle
  11. rash — a series
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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