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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mark — a trace
  8. board — to get on
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. roll — a list
  12. mark — a grade
  13. snap — to click
  14. capital — money
  15. shower — to wash
  16. board — a committee
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — a trail
  21. shower — rain
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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