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

Word bank: wind · snap · march · cell · bat · ruler

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to click
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. march — the month
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. march — music
  18. cell — in a prison

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