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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a ring
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wake — a trail
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lie — to recline
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to click
  15. mate — to breed
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — the tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. band — a music group
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. patient — a sick person

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