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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mark — a grade
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — help
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hand — in cards
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mark — a trace
  22. face — to confront
  23. kid — child
  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