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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. present — a gift
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cell — a phone
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. court — of a king
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cell — in biology
  12. craft — boats
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — to wash
  16. face — to point toward
  17. shower — rain
  18. face — to confront
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. court — of law
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. court — for sport

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