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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: bulb · fork · wound · ball · pass · wave · wake · cell

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. ball — a round shape

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