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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. ground — a position
  4. track — a path
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ground — crushed
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. track — a song
  15. plane — a tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. ground — the earth
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. club — a group
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. track — to keep track
  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