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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 · snap · wake · court · charge · hand · cell · lash

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cell — in biology
  4. snap — to click
  5. pound — a weight
  6. charge — a price
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. charge — electricity
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — of law
  17. hand — help
  18. court — for sport
  19. charge — in control
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. hand — part of the body

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