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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: cap · wake · pitcher · snap · face · hand · rest · nail

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — in cards
  5. snap — to click
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rest — a break
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rest — what's left

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