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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. roll — a list
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. drill — army training
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. shower — rain
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. drill — a practice
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fall — the season
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. roll — a cake
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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