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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. can — a tin
  3. club — for golf
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. race — the arms race
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — humankind
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. race — a contest
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — farmland
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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