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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. last — finally
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rush — hurry
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. track — a song
  17. spring — of water
  18. track — a path
  19. kid — child
  20. track — to keep track
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — a box
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. last — to go on

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