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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: prune · snap · pound · face · row · race · fall · cabinet

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pound — a weight
  5. face — to confront
  6. race — the arms race
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — a line
  12. face — to point toward
  13. race — a contest
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — humankind
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fall — the season
  22. row — to paddle
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cabinet — ministers

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