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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bear — the animal
  6. current — of water
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. charge — in control
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. current — electric
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. charge — a price

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