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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. ground — a position
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. tear — from crying
  9. root — of a plant
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — a phone
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tear — to rip

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