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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ground — a position
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — moving air
  18. swing — music

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