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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pop — soda
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rock — music
  9. last — final
  10. pop — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. last — finally
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. net — after costs
  15. ball — a dance
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. net — for catching
  24. rock — a stone

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