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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chest — a box
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pop — to visit
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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