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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lean — thin
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lean — to bend
  9. last — final
  10. bass — low music
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — a trail
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fine — all right
  18. ground — the earth
  19. race — a contest
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. race — humankind
  24. wind — moving air

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