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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — a trail
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fall — the season
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mine — for digging
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mine — an explosive

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