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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cell — a phone
  20. roll — a list
  21. bulb — for light
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wave — of the sea

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