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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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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: wake · sharp · pop · snap · lean · spell · cold · lie

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. lean — thin
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spell — letters
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pop — music
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. snap — to click
  18. lie — to recline
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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