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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. current — of water
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. tube — the underground
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bound — tied together
  13. current — electric
  14. hand — help
  15. dip — to sink
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — obliged
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bound — certain
  22. tube — a container
  23. current — happening now
  24. bat — in an idiom

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