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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rash — a series
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. object — a thing
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — to protest
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bulb — for light
  24. march — music

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