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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pit — a hole
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pit — in a race
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rock — music
  24. wind — moving air

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