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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cap — of ice
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cap — a hat
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. spell — magic
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. hand — help
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. snap — to click

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