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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cue — a signal
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wake — a trail
  10. snap — to click
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cue — a hint
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bass — the fish
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bass — low music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. cue — for pool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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