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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — an injury
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — ground
  8. roll — a list
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fork — in a road
  15. face — to confront
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. land — to come down
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — a country

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