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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rock — a stone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — music
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spell — letters
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ground — crushed
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. spell — magic
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — a straw man

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