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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. present — the time now
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. can — a tin
  9. present — there
  10. can — to be able to
  11. game — a match
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. spring — of water
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spring — the season
  17. bore — to tire
  18. can — a tin
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. present — a gift
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — a coil

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