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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — the animal
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. dip — to sink
  23. foot — a measure
  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