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

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — happy
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bulb — for light
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. content — the amount
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. file — a tool
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. content — videos and posts

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