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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to click
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. track — a path
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. track — to keep track
  13. saw — the tool
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — a song
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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