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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. saw — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — to visit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. spell — magic

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