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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. chip — to eat
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — a box
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chip — for betting
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. march — music
  18. can — a tin
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. can — to be able to
  21. wound — an injury
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chest — of your body
  24. leaves — to go away

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