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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chest — a box
  8. root — of a plant
  9. ball — a great time
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. root — of a word
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. root — the cause
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. spell — magic
  24. chest — of your body

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