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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. roll — a list
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. capital — money
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. last — to go on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. last — final
  18. roll — a cake
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. last — finally
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chair — a leader

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