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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chest — a box
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to click
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. mine — for digging
  12. last — final
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mug — to rob
  22. last — to go on
  23. mug — a face
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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