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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mine — for digging
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cell — a phone
  18. board — to get on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. sharp — exactly

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