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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — to go on
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rash — a series
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. row — to paddle
  23. staff — employees
  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