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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. roll — a list
  3. last — final
  4. spring — the season
  5. spell — magic
  6. pound — a weight
  7. last — to go on
  8. roll — a cake
  9. spring — of water
  10. spell — a short time
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to click
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rest — a break
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pound — for dogs

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