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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pound — a weight
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. present — a gift
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — a tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to click
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — the time now
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. key — in music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. present — there

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