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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — not warm
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. key — in music
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rash — a series

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