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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. field — farmland
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. suit — in cards
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — a subject
  14. chip — for betting
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. suit — clothes
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. suit — to fit
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. hand — in cards
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — help
  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