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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stem — to come from
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fine — all right
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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