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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. row — a line
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. spell — a short time
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spell — magic
  11. staff — employees
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bank — for money
  14. wake — a trail
  15. row — to paddle
  16. staff — a stick
  17. net — for catching
  18. snap — to click
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — after costs
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spell — letters
  23. net — in sport
  24. bank — for money

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