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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rock — music
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. fall — the season
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. race — a contest
  20. spell — letters
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — magic

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