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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — a division
  9. spell — a short time
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — to come from
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spell — letters
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. shower — rain
  24. march — music

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