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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: hand · wake · mine · mug · mouse · bat · bulb · date

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mug — a face
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bat — in an idiom

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