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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. mug — to rob
  3. net — after costs
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mug — a cup
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — for catching
  12. bulb — for light
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. mug — a face
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — child
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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