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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cell — a phone
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of law
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bank — of a river
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of a king
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bank — for money
  24. court — for sport

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