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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · roll · hand · snap · row · coach · wake · drill

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. drill — army training
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — a list
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to click
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wake — a trail
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hand — help
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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