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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: club · suit · kid · snap · cap · cell · tear · spell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — for golf
  3. spell — magic
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. spell — letters
  7. suit — to fit
  8. club — for dancing
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cap — a lid
  13. kid — child
  14. club — a group
  15. cell — in biology
  16. suit — clothes
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — a hat
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to click

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