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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 120 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a hat
  3. firm — steady
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a great time
  15. present — there
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — the time now
  18. cap — of ice
  19. present — a gift
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — decided
  24. pass — a permit

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