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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to click
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rash — a series
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stand — to bear
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stand — on your feet

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