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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — magic
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. spell — letters
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — a short time
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — a line
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. stem — of a plant

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