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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pop — soda
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pop — music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ground — a position
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pop — to visit
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pit — a hole
  19. shower — rain
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wax — for sculpting

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