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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of a king
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hand — help
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — the tool

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