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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mug — a cup
  6. game — a match
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mug — a face
  9. toast — bread
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mug — to rob
  12. cold — not warm
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cold — an illness
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — a subject
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. craft — boats
  23. field — for sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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