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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. band — a ring
  8. land — ground
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. land — to come down
  12. band — a music group
  13. shower — rain
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. toast — bread
  18. land — a country
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — a trail
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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