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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — to get on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rock — a stone
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. net — for catching
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. net — in sport
  18. rock — music
  19. net — after costs
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. jam — in traffic

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