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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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 — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bulb — for light
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — to shout
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. game — a match
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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