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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — rain
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fork — in a road
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a music group

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