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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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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. snap — to click
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. fine — high quality
  10. board — a committee
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fine — all right
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. board — to get on
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the sport

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