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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. field — a subject
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. season — of the year
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. season — in sport
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — to come down
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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