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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: roll · foot · hand · stick · snap · jam · straw · pound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. hand — in cards
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. roll — a list
  15. foot — a measure
  16. roll — a cake
  17. hand — help
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pound — for dogs

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