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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for golf
  4. wake — a trail
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — after costs
  15. club — a group
  16. cold — an illness
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lean — thin
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. net — in sport
  24. lean — to rest against

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