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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mug — to rob
  4. last — final
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — the season
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mug — a cup
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. last — to go on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. court — of law
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tube — a container
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — a face

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