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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: chair · snap · face · mark · rest · pound · bulb · wind

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chair — a leader
  4. snap — to click
  5. rest — a break
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rest — what's left
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. face — to point toward
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — to confront
  24. chair — to sit on

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