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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — child
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. band — a ring
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. object — an aim
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. suit — to fit
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. snap — to click
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a music group
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. suit — in cards
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. suit — clothes

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