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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — a box
  16. ground — a position
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lean — to bend
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. lean — thin

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