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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wake — a trail
  5. club — a group
  6. snap — to click
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. face — to confront
  14. row — a line
  15. club — for dancing
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bay — a horse colour

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