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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — the season
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spring — of water
  19. saw — the tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — an illness
  23. shower — rain
  24. bulb — for light

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