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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — a container
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — the underground
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. last — finally
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. last — to go on
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. last — final
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stock — goods
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stock — shares

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