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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to click
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cap — a hat
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — moving air
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — not warm

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