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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mine — for digging
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bound — obliged
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bound — certain
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. toast — the most admired

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