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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. shower — to wash
  3. swing — in golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bulb — for light
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. kid — child
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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