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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. saw — the tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. capital — a city
  7. wake — a trail
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. capital — money
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. vault — a safe
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. snap — to click
  20. mate — a friend
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — to breed
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. mate — a partner

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