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

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mine — for digging
  8. toast — bread
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. swing — music
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. swing — to play on
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wake — a trail

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