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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. season — of the year
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bound — tied together
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — in sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — certain
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bound — obliged
  22. snap — to click
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — moving air

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