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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — a trail
  3. staff — employees
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — an illness

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