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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. firm — decided
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — shares
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. firm — a company
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — the fruit
  13. firm — steady
  14. snap — to click
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stock — goods
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. clip — a video

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