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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · rock · mate · leaves · wake · wound · field · dip

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rock — a stone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. wake — a trail
  8. snap — to click
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rock — music
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mate — a friend
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. dip — to sink
  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