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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: wound · cap · cell · arm · snap · face · stick · track

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cell — in biology
  4. snap — to click
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. face — to confront
  12. track — a song
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cap — of ice
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — an injury
  22. face — part of the head
  23. track — to keep track
  24. 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