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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kick — in football
  3. bat — the animal
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bound — obliged
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bound — certain
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — for digging
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bound — tied together
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. branch — of a tree

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