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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spring — the season
  4. bulb — for light
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. plane — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chest — a box
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. squash — the sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. spring — of water
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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