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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — the season
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. deal — to handle
  8. race — the arms race
  9. dip — to sink
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. present — the time now
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. foot — a measure
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. present — a gift
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — humankind
  22. present — there
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. dip — to dunk

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