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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rash — hasty
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. track — a song
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. rash — a series
  18. swing — in golf
  19. track — a path
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — in music
  24. pop — soda

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