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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cell — in biology
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lean — thin
  11. bound — tied together
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — of water
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bound — certain
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. can — a tin
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spring — the season

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