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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pit — a hole
  3. hand — in cards
  4. track — a song
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a path
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rock — music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. hand — help
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. snap — to click
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rock — a stone
  24. track — to keep track

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