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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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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: tube · ground · saw · lie · swing · bank · spell · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. ground — a position
  7. tube — the underground
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bank — for money
  10. tube — a container
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bank — of a river
  15. spell — a short time
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ground — crushed
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — for money
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spell — magic
  24. lie — to recline

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