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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to click
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. foot — a measure
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — the animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. foot — part of the body

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