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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. deal — to handle
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mate — a partner
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cold — an illness
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mate — to breed
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wake — a trail

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