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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. key — in music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — letters
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fork — in a road
  15. key — for a lock
  16. hand — help
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. key — the most important part
  21. drill — army training
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — the season

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