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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rule — government
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spring — of water
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — the season
  11. scale — size or range
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spell — letters

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