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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: last · wind · tear · deal · rock · pass · snap · spell

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. last — to go on
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. rock — music
  7. last — final
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to click
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — finally
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spell — letters
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pass — a permit
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pass — to spend time

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