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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. mate — a partner
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. root — of a word
  7. row — a line
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. snap — to click
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mate — to breed
  12. date — the fruit
  13. swing — to play on
  14. root — the cause
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. row — to paddle
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mate — a friend
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. date — on the calendar

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