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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. roll — a list
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wake — a trail
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. roll — a cake
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bulb — for light
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cell — in a prison

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