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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rock — a stone
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fall — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a line
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. file — a tool
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rock — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a document
  24. fall — to drop

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