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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 116 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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. spell — magic
  4. charge — a price
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spell — letters
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — boats
  10. charge — electricity
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hand — help
  18. spell — a short time
  19. shower — rain
  20. charge — in control
  21. bore — to drill
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spring — the season

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