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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. bound — obliged
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. game — wild animals
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bound — certain
  7. net — after costs
  8. game — a match
  9. lean — thin
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. net — for catching
  20. mark — a trace
  21. net — in sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mark — a grade
  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