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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — finally
  4. spell — magic
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — to go on
  10. pop — music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pop — soda
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. dip — to sink
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. last — final
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. dip — a sauce

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