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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. spring — of water
  6. mate — a friend
  7. lean — thin
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — the season
  14. track — a path
  15. bulb — for light
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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