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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. present — there
  8. bank — of a river
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — help
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. present — a gift
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — a line
  22. present — the time now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bank — for money

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