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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. present — the time now
  4. board — a committee
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. race — humankind
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. present — a gift
  10. fall — the season
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. board — to get on
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — there
  16. wound — an injury
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — a contest
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. race — the arms race

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