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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cell — in biology
  3. row — a line
  4. drill — army training
  5. wake — a trail
  6. staff — employees
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. staff — a stick
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — to paddle
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wound — an injury

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