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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. scale — in music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. land — a country
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mate — a friend
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wake — a trail

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