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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. charge — electricity
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spring — the season
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fall — to drop
  13. charge — in control
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. ball — a great time
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rock — music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. charge — a price
  20. wake — a trail
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fall — the season

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