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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lean — thin
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. squash — the sport
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. lean — to bend
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. squash — to crush
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wake — a trail

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