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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — the month
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — a match
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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