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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cap — a hat
  3. suit — clothes
  4. cap — of ice
  5. key — in music
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. shower — to wash
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. shower — rain
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. key — the most important part
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fork — in a road
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. suit — to fit
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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