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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — in cards
  10. track — a song
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. track — a path
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. snap — to click
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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