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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. present — there
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. present — the time now
  10. net — for catching
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — clever
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. net — after costs
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — from a university
  18. present — a gift
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. net — in sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tear — from crying

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