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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spring — the season
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. clip — a video
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — of water
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spring — a coil
  19. clip — for paper
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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