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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. land — ground
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pit — in a race
  7. squash — to crush
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — a country
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — rain
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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