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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fall — the season
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kick — in football

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