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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kid — child
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — the Cold War

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