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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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. net — for catching
  4. wake — a trail
  5. face — to point toward
  6. sharp — clever
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. mate — to breed
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. face — to confront
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mate — a friend
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. face — part of the head
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. spring — the season
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mate — a partner

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