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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — not warm
  5. foot — a measure
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. spring — a coil
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — of water
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — the season
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. spell — magic
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. temple — a place of worship

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