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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pop — music
  3. wake — a trail
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pop — soda
  6. mark — a grade
  7. land — a country
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. mark — a trace
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. key — the most important part
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. key — in music
  24. tube — the underground

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