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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: object · pit · face · wake · current · sharp · cold · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cold — an illness
  3. face — to confront
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — to protest
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cold — not warm
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. current — happening now
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. object — an aim
  22. pit — in a race
  23. object — a thing
  24. wake — a trail

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