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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  3. wake — a trail
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ground — the earth
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bass — the fish
  12. face — part of the head
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. row — a line
  16. face — to confront
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bass — low music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cell — in biology
  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