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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. band — a ring
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bulb — for light
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to bend
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lean — thin
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — a city
  15. wake — a trail
  16. swing — music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. swing — in golf
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. shower — rain

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