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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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Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spring — the season
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. snap — to click
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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