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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bass — low music
  7. fall — the season
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — child
  15. bark — to shout
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — to drop

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