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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. lean — thin
  4. drill — army training
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cell — in biology
  14. shower — rain
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. board — to get on
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. drill — a practice
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. drill — the tool
  22. board — a committee
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tear — from crying

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