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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. row — a line
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pop — to visit
  6. row — to paddle
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pop — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. pop — soda
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cap — of ice
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bat — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. mark — a grade

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