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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: last · cue · bay · game · wake · ground · fall · pound

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — a position
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fall — the season
  15. cue — for pool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. fall — to drop

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