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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. object — a thing
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. spring — of water
  18. hand — help
  19. chest — a box
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spring — a coil
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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