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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to click
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. drill — army training
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mate — a friend
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wake — a trail
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. deal — to handle
  24. drill — a practice

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