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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cap — a lid
  12. spell — magic
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. can — to be able to
  20. march — music
  21. can — a tin
  22. cap — a hat
  23. can — a tin
  24. march — the month

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