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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pass — a permit
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — certain
  10. net — for catching
  11. chest — a box
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. net — after costs
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. row — a line
  16. wake — a trail
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — tied together
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. net — in sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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