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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. straw — dry grass

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