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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: snap · club · scale · chest · hand · pound · fall · tear

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. chest — a box
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — of your body
  6. club — for golf
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — help
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chest — of your body
  23. scale — in music
  24. tear — from crying

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