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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. key — the most important part
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wake — a trail
  9. key — for a lock
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. key — in music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mine — for digging
  16. snap — to click
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mark — a trace

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