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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rash — hasty
  3. row — a line
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. tube — the underground
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stem — to come from
  18. object — an aim
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rash — a series
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chest — a box
  23. bulb — for light
  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