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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. object — to protest
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. object — an aim
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cell — a phone

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