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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pass — a permit
  10. fall — the season
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a document
  13. fine — all right
  14. file — a tool
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wake — a trail
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pass — to succeed

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