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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — goods
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — completely
  5. sharp — clever
  6. track — to keep track
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stock — shares
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. track — a path

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