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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a document
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hand — help
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — in cards

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