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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wake — a trail
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bulb — for light
  10. object — a thing
  11. root — of a plant
  12. object — an aim
  13. snap — to click
  14. object — to protest
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rest — a break
  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