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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · snap · bat · wake · wave · fork · rule · kid

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kid — child
  10. rule — a law
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fork — in a road
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rule — government
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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