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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. net — in sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — a division
  12. chest — a box
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. net — after costs
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chest — of your body
  24. trunk — of a car

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