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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — to point toward
  7. last — finally
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. saw — the tool
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. last — to go on
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. scale — in music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. last — final
  22. face — to confront
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of a car

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