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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. spell — magic
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. spell — a short time
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mine — for digging
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. march — the month
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. spell — letters
  22. rash — a series
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — music

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