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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: wake · ground · bulb · cell · mug · wave · land · fall

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. land — ground
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mug — a cup
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. ground — the earth
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. mug — a face
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fall — the season
  24. ground — a position

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