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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spell — magic
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spell — letters
  16. band — a music group
  17. spell — a short time
  18. game — a match
  19. fall — the season
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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