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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. fine — all right
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cell — a phone
  5. perch — the fish
  6. toast — bread
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pop — music
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pop — soda
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. trunk — of a tree

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