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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: tear · snap · sharp · wind · stick · chair · mate · spell

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. spell — a short time
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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