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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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. sharp — with an edge
  3. spell — magic
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — clever
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. root — of a plant
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. root — of a word
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitch — completely
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. root — the cause
  24. snap — to click

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