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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pit — in a race
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. last — final
  8. wake — a trail
  9. last — finally
  10. face — part of the head
  11. last — to go on
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. face — to confront
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — letters
  19. face — to point toward
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spell — magic

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