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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cap — a lid
  3. net — for catching
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — the underground
  6. craft — boats
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — for light
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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