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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spring — a coil
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. charge — in control
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chest — a box
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. drill — a practice
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fall — the season
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. snap — to click
  22. drill — the tool
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chest — of your body

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