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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spring — the season
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wake — a trail
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. leaves — lets stay

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