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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cue — a signal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fine — high quality
  14. race — humankind
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fine — all right
  18. last — to go on
  19. cue — for pool
  20. race — a contest
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. saw — the tool
  24. race — the arms race

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