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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. snap — to click
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fall — the season
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fork — in a road
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spell — magic
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. pass — to spend time

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