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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. mate — to breed
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — humankind
  10. mate — a friend
  11. chip — to eat
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. file — a tool
  23. chip — in a computer
  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