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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. march — the month
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. current — electric
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. tear — to rip
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. current — happening now
  23. fall — the season
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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