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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — thin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stock — shares
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. court — of law
  15. rash — a series
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. court — of a king
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — for sport
  24. lean — to bend

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