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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fall — the season
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. present — the time now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. staff — a stick
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — there
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. prune — to trim

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