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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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. fall — to drop
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tube — the underground
  9. snap — to click
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — a container
  21. fall — the season
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fork — to eat with

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