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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — moving air
  14. key — the most important part
  15. drill — a practice
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — a phone
  19. snap — to click
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. key — in music
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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