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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. march — music
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. face — part of the head
  10. march — the month
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. face — to point toward
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. net — after costs
  16. face — to confront
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pound — a weight
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. march — the month
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wave — with your hand

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