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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. staff — employees
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rock — a stone
  6. staff — employees
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rock — music
  13. face — to confront
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — letters
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — a stick
  24. tear — to rip

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