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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: snap · pit · hand · wake · game · capital · bay · track

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hand — help
  3. track — a path
  4. wake — a trail
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pit — in a race
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. game — a match
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a city
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. snap — to click
  23. capital — money
  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