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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 116 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. club — a group
  3. bulb — for light
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. club — for golf
  16. fall — the season
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — before a funeral

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