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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mine — for digging
  7. sharp — clever
  8. track — to keep track
  9. charge — in control
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. charge — a price
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bore — to drill
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. row — a line
  19. track — a song
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pit — a hole

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