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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 124 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. spring — the season
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bank — for money
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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