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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cell — a phone
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in biology
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — the season
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — the fruit
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wake — a trail

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