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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. root — of a word
  17. track — a path
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — letters
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spell — magic
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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