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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. kid — child
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. face — part of the head
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. fine — all right
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — to tease
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. face — to confront
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — to point toward

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