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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. net — in sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pop — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hand — in cards
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pop — soda
  17. spring — of water
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. net — after costs
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. net — for catching
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. straw — a straw man

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