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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — crushed
  3. key — in music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. scale — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bank — for money
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bank — for money
  14. fall — the season
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ground — a position
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bank — of a river

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