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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: face · last · deal · kid · wake · snap · saw · bank

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. face — to confront
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. kid — child
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bank — for money
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. deal — to handle
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — final
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. face — to point toward
  15. last — to go on
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wake — a trail
  18. saw — the tool
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — finally

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