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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. net — for catching
  3. rest — a break
  4. net — in sport
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rest — what's left
  9. track — a song
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — to cut
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. track — a path
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — a video
  19. rest — what's left
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. track — to keep track

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