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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. snap — to click
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — the season
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bore — to drill
  18. swing — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — of water
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hide — animal skin

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