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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. foot — a measure
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — a box
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — magic
  19. snap — to click
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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