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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · chip · fall · drill · wake · bat

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wake — a trail
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. fall — to drop
  15. drill — army training
  16. fall — the season
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball

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