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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — finally
  8. lean — thin
  9. can — a tin
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wake — a trail
  12. can — a tin
  13. chest — a box
  14. bound — tied together
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bound — certain

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