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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — a friend
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — to breed
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — rain
  8. fork — in a road
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mate — a partner
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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