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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bound — obliged
  3. charge — a price
  4. last — to go on
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — final
  7. bound — tied together
  8. charge — electricity
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cap — of ice
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. last — finally
  17. bound — certain
  18. scale — in music
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. tear — to rip
  21. charge — in control
  22. cap — a lid
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. cap — a hat

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