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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for golf
  4. degree — from a university
  5. track — a path
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. club — a group
  9. chair — a leader
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. last — final
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wake — a trail
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. last — finally
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. degree — an amount

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