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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spell — letters
  7. bear — the animal
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pop — soda
  10. kid — child
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. spell — magic
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. land — a country
  22. wake — a trail
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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