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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — a short time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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