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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. drill — army training
  6. wake — a trail
  7. row — to paddle
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bulb — for light
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — a line
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rush — a thrill

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