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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a document
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mate — a partner
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mate — a friend
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — of water
  21. file — a line of people
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — the season
  24. file — a tool

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