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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bank — for money
  3. ground — a position
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bank — for money
  6. tube — a container
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — farmland
  9. face — to confront
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chair — a leader
  12. shower — rain
  13. bank — of a river
  14. field — a subject
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tube — the underground
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. ground — crushed
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — for sport
  23. shower — to wash
  24. face — to point toward

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