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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. kid — child
  2. object — to protest
  3. pop — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — magic
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — an aim
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  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