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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mark — a grade
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rule — government
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mark — a trace
  19. row — to paddle
  20. snap — to click
  21. rash — a series
  22. rule — a law
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rule — to rule out

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