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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. race — humankind
  6. spell — a short time
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — for light
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — to tease
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — a contest
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. spell — magic
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bulb — of a plant

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