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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. face — to confront
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cap — of ice
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — of water
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. face — part of the head
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spring — the season

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