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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 116 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — to confront
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. face — part of the head
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — to point toward
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. plane — a tool
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rock — music

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