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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. spell — a short time
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. band — a ring
  8. current — electric
  9. game — wild animals
  10. current — of water
  11. band — a music group
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. scale — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spell — letters
  23. game — a match
  24. current — happening now

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