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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 to change the light ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chest — a box
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stock — goods
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stock — shares
  23. fall — the season
  24. rash — a series

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