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

Word bank: rule · plane · deal · bat · wind · wake · last · mark

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. last — finally
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. last — to go on
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. bat — the animal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. deal — a big deal

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