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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. swing — to play on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — an aim
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. ball — a dance
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. object — a thing
  22. swing — music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. object — to protest

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