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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. suit — to fit
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. land — ground
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rash — a series
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — clothes
  18. sharp — clever
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. land — to come down

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