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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. press — newspapers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. press — to push
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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