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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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. squash — to crush
  4. bass — low music
  5. wake — a trail
  6. band — a ring
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. roll — a list
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — farmland
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bass — the fish
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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