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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — magic
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. land — a country
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. row — a line
  10. spell — a short time
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — letters
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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