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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: object · nail · snap · wound · march · rock · sharp · chest

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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. rock — to move gently
  3. snap — to click
  4. march — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. object — an aim
  7. rock — a stone
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rock — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. object — to protest
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — a box
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. march — the month
  24. object — a thing

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