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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stock — goods
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — the season
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — shares

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