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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to click
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. charge — a price
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bulb — for light
  19. foot — a measure
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bulb — for light
  22. shower — rain
  23. roll — a cake
  24. charge — in control

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