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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bore — to tire
  10. fall — the season
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bore — to drill
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. degree — an amount
  24. roll — a list

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