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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fall — the season
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — for golf
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. club — a group
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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