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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — obliged
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chair — a leader
  9. can — to be able to
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bound — certain
  13. can — a tin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. key — in music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wake — a trail

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