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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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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: bat · current · wake · coach · track · spell · ground · fall

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spell — letters
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. fall — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. current — of water
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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