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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spell — a short time
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. roll — a list
  10. squash — to crush
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — magic
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. spell — letters
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. pound — a weight
  23. squash — the sport
  24. dip — to sink

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