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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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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: bear · pop · chest · straw · rash · snap · key · pass

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — soda
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. key — in music
  8. rash — a series
  9. pop — music
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. chest — a box
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. rash — on the skin

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