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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ball — a great time
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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