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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rest — a break
  3. mug — a face
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. row — a line
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. mug — a cup
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tube — a container
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mug — to rob

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