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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. lie — to recline
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cue — a signal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. snap — to click
  10. charge — a price
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. charge — in control
  24. cue — a hint

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