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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. snap — to click
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — a coil
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spring — the season
  18. rule — a law
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — government
  22. swing — music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — a phone

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