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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. craft — boats
  5. pop — music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spring — of water
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. ground — a position
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pop — to visit
  16. saw — the tool
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chair — a leader
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. craft — a skill
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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