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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — music
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lean — to bend
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. spell — letters
  11. lean — thin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kick — in football
  24. wind — to turn a key

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