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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. court — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — letters
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. spell — magic
  15. court — of a king
  16. present — there
  17. spell — a short time
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — humankind
  22. present — a gift
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. wake — a trail

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