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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: wound · dip · drill · object · cap · last · wake · chair

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a leader
  5. drill — a practice
  6. last — finally
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cap — a hat
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — final
  14. object — a thing
  15. drill — army training
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. object — an aim
  24. dip — a sauce

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