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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — a country
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bank — for money
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bank — for money
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — for pool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. land — to come down

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