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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. game — a match
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. perch — the fish

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