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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: pound · chest · plane · spell · bear · kick · snap · face

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chest — a box
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. snap — to click
  9. face — to confront
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. face — part of the head
  12. plane — a tool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spell — letters
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — magic
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. face — to point toward

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