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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. court — of law
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. court — of a king
  14. snap — to click
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pit — in a race
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wound — an injury

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