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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pop — music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — soda
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wake — a trail
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pop — to visit

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