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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of law
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — the sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. wake — a trail
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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