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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — a hole
  6. spring — of water
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rest — what's left
  11. roll — a cake
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — a break
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spring — the season
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — a coil

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