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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — final
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tube — a container
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wake — a trail
  13. drill — army training
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — size or range
  16. last — finally
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — in music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mark — a trace
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. scale — for weighing

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