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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: wound · snap · jam · bore · kick · chest · arm · wind

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — in football
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — a box
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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