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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: rock · snap · hand · coach · file · bound · wake · pop

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bound — tied together
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rock — music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. snap — to click
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. file — a tool
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bound — certain
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — soda
  16. file — a document
  17. pop — to visit
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. hand — help
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — obliged

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