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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wake — a trail
  10. land — to come down
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cue — for pool
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. leaves — of a tree

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