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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. file — a document
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spell — letters
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rock — a stone
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rock — music
  12. date — the fruit
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — a contest
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. spell — magic
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. file — a tool
  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