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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pit — in a race
  6. face — to point toward
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pit — a hole
  9. chest — a box
  10. charge — electricity
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. charge — in control
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wind — moving air
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. charge — a price
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wind — moving air

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