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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. net — after costs
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pop — to visit
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wind — moving air
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pop — soda
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pop — music
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bulb — for light

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