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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. net — for catching
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — there
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. dip — to sink
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. present — the time now
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. net — after costs
  17. tear — from crying
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — a gift
  20. tear — to rip
  21. snap — to click
  22. wake — a trail
  23. net — in sport
  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