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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kid — child
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wake — a trail
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mine — belonging to me

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