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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. row — a line
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. roll — a list
  11. mug — to rob
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mug — a face
  19. lean — thin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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