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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spell — letters
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spell — magic
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — a short time
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — the animal
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. snap — to click
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. last — finally
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. last — final
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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