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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. suit — to fit
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bank — for money
  9. file — a line of people
  10. suit — clothes
  11. spring — the season
  12. suit — in cards
  13. file — a document
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. file — a tool
  17. bank — of a river
  18. lean — thin
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bank — for money
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lean — to bend

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