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

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bound — certain
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bound — obliged

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