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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mate — a partner
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pitch — completely
  24. key — the most important part

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