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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. present — a gift
  5. cap — a hat
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ground — the earth
  9. stock — shares
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — a trail
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stock — goods
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. present — the time now
  20. ground — a position
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. present — there

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