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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ground — crushed
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ground — a position
  9. bank — for money
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ground — the earth
  12. file — a tool
  13. press — to push
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bat — the animal
  19. game — a match
  20. file — a document
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. game — wild animals

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