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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to click
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. band — a ring
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. hand — help
  20. craft — boats
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. craft — a skill

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