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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: charge · scale · snap · sharp · chest · tube · fall · squash

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fall — to drop
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — the underground
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fall — the season
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. charge — in control
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chest — a box
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. charge — a price

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