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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. toast — bread
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. current — happening now
  7. vault — a safe
  8. current — electric
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. chair — a leader
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. current — of water
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wake — a trail
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. tear — from crying
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. toast — the most admired

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