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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a music group
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a ring
  6. snap — to click
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chest — a box
  16. can — a tin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. roll — a list
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. roll — a cake

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