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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cell — in biology
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. track — a path
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — to come down
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. land — a country
  24. dip — to sink

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