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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. squash — the sport
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. lie — to recline
  5. net — in sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — in cards
  9. craft — a skill
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — help
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. net — after costs
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. craft — boats
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — for catching
  24. cap — of ice

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