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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bank — for money
  4. firm — steady
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bank — for money
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rest — what's left
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — the season
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. firm — a company
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ball — a great time
  19. firm — decided
  20. spring — of water
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ball — a dance

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