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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spell — letters
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — a series
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. vault — a safe
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. key — in music

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