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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. cap — a hat
  4. court — of law
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. race — the arms race
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. court — of a king
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. tear — to rip
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. cap — a lid
  18. race — humankind
  19. court — for sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. race — a contest

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