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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: board · cold · ruler · wake · pit · wind · sharp · bulb

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — an illness
  7. board — to get on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wind — moving air
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bulb — for light
  24. sharp — clever

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