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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. track — a song
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. game — a match
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fork — in a road
  12. stand — to bear
  13. pop — music
  14. track — a path
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pop — soda
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. game — a kind of play

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