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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 120 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mug — a cup
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. ground — crushed
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. ground — the earth
  8. face — part of the head
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — to confront
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mug — a face
  19. fall — the season
  20. mug — to rob
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. snap — to click

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