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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rest — a break
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rest — what's left

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