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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a match

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