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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — for sport
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tube — a container
  5. court — of law
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fall — the season
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — low music
  15. net — in sport
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — the fish
  22. tube — the underground
  23. court — of a king
  24. file — a document

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