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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. present — there
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chip — to eat
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — hasty
  8. present — the time now
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chip — for betting
  17. rash — on the skin
  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