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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: row · saw · season · rash · snap · fan · bulb · wake

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. row — a line
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. snap — to click
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bulb — for light
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bulb — for light
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. saw — the tool

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