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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mate — a friend
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. craft — boats
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bulb — for light
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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