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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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Word bank
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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 · shower · track · wake · row · pass · arm · cell

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bulb — for light
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. shower — rain
  11. bulb — for light
  12. row — to paddle
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — a song
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cell — in biology
  24. arm — part of the body

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