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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. chest — a box
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bore — to tire
  24. snap — to click

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