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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. snap — to click
  3. rule — a law
  4. staff — employees
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — help
  9. rule — government
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wound — an injury
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. staff — employees
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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