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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. field — for sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — farmland
  15. kick — in football
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. current — electric
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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