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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rash — hasty
  3. snap — to click
  4. spring — a coil
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — the season
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rash — a series
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — a hat
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. spring — of water
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pass — a permit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cell — in biology

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