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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. last — finally
  3. row — a line
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mate — a partner
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. degree — from a university
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. row — to paddle

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