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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. game — wild animals
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — to sink
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. last — final
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. chip — to eat
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. last — to go on
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chip — for betting
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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