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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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 — to stop sleeping
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — hurry
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — in music
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pop — soda
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  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