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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 120 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: bowl · snap · prune · chest · mouse · lean · bulb · drill

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. lean — thin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — a practice
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to click
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chest — a box
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bulb — for light
  24. drill — army training

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