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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: snap · saw · rest · cap · wind · last · scale · root

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rest — a break
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — final
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. scale — size or range
  8. snap — to click
  9. scale — in music
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. root — of a word
  17. wind — moving air
  18. root — the cause
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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