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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lie — to recline
  4. club — for golf
  5. staff — a stick
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. current — happening now
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. club — for dancing
  23. staff — employees
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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