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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — a subject
  5. can — to be able to
  6. key — in music
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. field — farmland
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. can — a tin
  16. field — for sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. net — for catching
  19. bore — to tire
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — not warm

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