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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. face — to point toward
  4. suit — to fit
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. suit — clothes
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — of water
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. face — to confront
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. suit — in cards
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — the sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spring — the season
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lean — to bend
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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