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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. mate — to breed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. row — a line
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — child
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cabinet — ministers

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