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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 124 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. snap — to click
  5. sharp — clever
  6. track — to keep track
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. track — a path
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wake — a trail
  14. march — music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — the month
  23. track — a song
  24. nail — for a hammer

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