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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. snap — to click
  3. present — there
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. wax — to grow
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. present — the time now
  24. wake — a trail

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