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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cold — not warm
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. deal — to handle
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mark — a grade
  19. band — a music group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. deal — a big deal

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