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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. net — in sport
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. net — for catching
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. race — humankind
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cue — a signal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a tool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. land — to come down
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — after costs
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. race — a contest
  21. file — a document
  22. land — a country
  23. file — a line of people
  24. snap — to click

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