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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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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: mine · mug · deal · club · fall · wake · kid · row

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. club — for golf
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mug — to rob
  7. deal — to handle
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — the season
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — child
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mug — a face
  17. mine — for digging
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mug — a cup
  22. club — a group
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — to paddle

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