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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chest — of your body
  5. suit — in cards
  6. ball — a dance
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. suit — to fit
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. ball — a great time
  14. snap — to click
  15. chest — a box
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a round shape

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