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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. spring — the season
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. spring — of water
  13. wake — a trail
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — a contest
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. stand — to bear
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bass — low music
  24. prune — the fruit

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