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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. face — to confront
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — a trail

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