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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rash — a series
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — a box
  19. scale — size or range
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — in music
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rash — hasty

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