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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lean — thin
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. press — to push
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. current — happening now
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. press — a publisher
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. current — electric
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. current — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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