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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. date — the fruit
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — a position
  9. sharp — clever
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wake — a trail
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wind — moving air
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. date — on the calendar

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