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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 120 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: wound · snap · pound · kick · season · lean · ruler · track

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. pound — a weight
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. season — of the year
  11. track — a path
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. track — a song
  16. season — in sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kick — in football
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. snap — to click
  24. ruler — a monarch

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