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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: snap · key · bat · mate · march · wound · bear · spell

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bear — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — letters
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mate — to breed
  15. key — the most important part
  16. snap — to click
  17. march — the month
  18. key — for a lock
  19. spell — magic
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — music
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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