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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — child
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mark — a grade
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — an illness

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