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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. spell — a short time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — of water
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spring — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — letters
  20. wake — a trail
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bulb — for light
  24. prune — to trim

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