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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 124 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. band — a music group
  6. deal — to handle
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — letters
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. pound — a weight
  13. spell — a short time
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spell — magic
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a ring
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fall — to drop
  23. plane — a tool
  24. snap — to click

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