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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. spell — magic
  3. snap — to click
  4. cold — an illness
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cue — for pool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. present — a gift
  16. cue — a hint
  17. mark — a trace
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lean — thin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — the time now
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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