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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a match
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — wild animals
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — to drop
  9. board — to get on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — to tire
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fall — the season
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. roll — a list
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. sharp — clever
  22. board — a committee
  23. cold — not warm
  24. roll — a cake

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