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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — finally
  3. wake — a trail
  4. net — after costs
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a leader
  10. last — final
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. net — in sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. last — to go on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wound — an injury

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