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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. land — a country
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. track — a path
  8. wake — a trail
  9. land — ground
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fall — to drop
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — rain
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — a song
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. shower — to wash
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — to come down
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wake — before a funeral

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