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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — in control
  4. last — to go on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. last — finally
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pop — to visit
  10. last — final
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. sharp — clever
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — the season
  15. pop — soda
  16. wake — a trail
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — a position
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pop — music
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. charge — a price

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