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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bank — of a river
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — for money
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. last — finally
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bank — for money
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — a trail
  14. last — final
  15. sharp — clever
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — to go on
  20. spell — letters
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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