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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. press — newspapers
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. press — to push
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — low music
  9. press — a publisher
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bass — the fish
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — in a road
  24. game — a match

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