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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. kick — in football
  3. scale — size or range
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ground — a position
  7. lean — thin
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — a price
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a hat
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — to bend
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. scale — in music
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. scale — for weighing

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