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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — electric
  9. root — of a plant
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — the cause
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. snap — to click
  15. current — of water
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. root — of a word
  22. current — happening now
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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