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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — child
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. last — finally
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. roll — a list
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — final
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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