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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. snap — to click
  3. chip — for betting
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a document
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. current — happening now
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. file — a tool
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chip — to eat
  24. sharp — with an edge

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