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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mug — a face
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. object — to protest
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — an illness
  8. snap — to click
  9. stand — to bear
  10. object — a thing
  11. mug — to rob
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. object — an aim
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rock — a stone

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