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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: club · present · fork · wake · bass · saw · bulb · tear

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — a gift
  5. club — for golf
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bulb — for light
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wake — a trail
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — low music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. present — there
  15. club — a group
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. present — the time now
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — to rip
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tear — from crying

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