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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. band — a ring
  3. wake — a trail
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. last — finally
  8. chest — a box
  9. band — a music group
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — in football
  14. last — to go on
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — final
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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