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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spring — the season
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cap — of ice
  12. game — wild animals
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cap — a hat
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. game — a match
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — a kind of play

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