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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · spell · snap · pound · tear · stand

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tear — to rip
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — to bear
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stand — for spectators

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