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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. court — for sport
  5. fork — in a road
  6. spell — magic
  7. court — of law
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fall — the season
  12. mug — a face
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spell — a short time
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fall — to drop

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