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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. court — of law
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — a trail
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. court — of a king
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. court — for sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. charge — in control
  19. pound — a weight
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. charge — a price
  23. fall — the season
  24. pound — to hit hard

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