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

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. band — a ring
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — of water
  7. ball — a great time
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mark — a grade
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. face — to confront
  15. kid — to tease
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mark — a trace
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — a coil
  24. band — a music group

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